Perm (Russian: Пермь; IPA: [pʲermʲ];[7]Komi-Permyak: Перем, Perem; Komi: Перым, Perym) is a city and the administrative center of Perm Krai, Russia, located on the banks of the Kama River in the European part of Russia near the Ural Mountains. From 1940 to 1957 it was named Molotov (Мо́лотов).[6]
According to the 2010 Census, Perm’s population is 991,162,[4] down from 1,001,653 recorded in the 2002 Census[8] and 1,090,944 recorded in 1989 Census.[9] As of the 2010 Census, the city was the thirteenth most populous in Russia.[4]
Perm was first mentioned as the village of Yegoshikha in 1647; however, the history of the modern city of Perm starts with the development of the Ural region by Tsar Peter the Great. Vasily Tatishchev, appointed by the Tsar as a chief manager of Ural factories, founded Perm together with another major center of the Ural region, Yekaterinburg.
Perm was founded on May 15 (May 4 in Julian calendar), 1723, and has had town status since October 29, 1781.[citation needed] By 1797, it was already the administrative center of Perm Governorate.
In the 19th century, Perm became a major trade and industrial center with a population of more than 20,000 people in the 1860s, with several metallurgy, paper, and steamboat producing factories, including one owned by a British entrepreneur. In 1870, an opera theater was opened in the city, and in 1871 the first phosphoric factory in Russia was built. In 1916, Perm State University—a major educational institution in modern Russia—was opened.
After the outbreak of the Russian Civil War, Perm became a prime target for both sides because of its military munitions factories. In December 1918, the Siberian White Army under Anatoly Pepelyayev (who acknowledged the authority of the Omsk Government of Aleksandr Kolchak), took Perm. In 1919, the city was retaken by the Red Army.
Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich was executed in the outskirts of Perm with his secretary Nicholas Johnson on June 12, 1918 on the orders of the Perm Cheka.[citation needed] Their bodies were never recovered. A few weeks later on July 7, 1918, Andronic Nikolsky, the Archbishop of Perm, was also murdered by the Bolsheviks in the city.[citation needed] In 2000, the Russian Orthodox Church glorified him as Hieromartyr Andronik, Archbishop Of Perm, one of the Russian New Martyrs and Confessors.[citation needed]
Soviet period
In the 1930s, Perm grew as a major industrial city with aviation, shipbuilding, and chemical factories built during that period. Development continued after the 1940s and virtually every major industry became represented by numerous factories in Perm. To this day, almost 80% of the city’s population is employed in manufacturing.[citation needed] During the Great Patriotic War (World War II), Perm was a vital center of artillery production in the Soviet Union.
From 1940 until 1957, the city was named Molotov (Мо́лотов), after Vyacheslav Molotov.[citation needed]
The city is a major administrative, industrial, scientific, and cultural center. The leading industries include machinery, defence, oil production (about 3% of Russian output), oil refining, chemical and petrochemical, timber and wood processing and the food industry.
